It took more than two months for news of the shocking sexual assault to spread, in part because the internet in the area was down.
This increasingly popular tactic Restricting the flow of information is part of the Indian government’s response to bloody ethnic conflict in the northeastern state of Manipur, where for several weeks the two communities were essentially at war over access to government benefits.
So when a video – showing two nude women marching and being assaulted in Manipur – went viral online on Wednesday in India, it sent shockwaves across the country, raising tensions and drawing new attention to a conflict that has left more than 130 people dead and more than 35,000 displaced.
It also led to Prime Minister Narendra Modi making his first public comments on the situation in the state. “The Manipur incident that has come to light, for any civilized society, is a shameful incident,” he said. he say on Thursday. It was an “insult” “of the whole nation,” he added.
He did not directly address the overall violence in Manipur, or offer any solution to ease tensions.
in a statement On Tuesday, state police said they were investigating a “kidnap, gang rape and murder” and had increased curfews in half a dozen areas of Manipur.
The incident took place on May 4, when clashes in the state were just beginning to break out, in the Kangpokpi district of Manipur, according to a police complaint filed by a family member of one of the victims. The footage shows two naked women being dragged by a group of young men. A man can be seen slapping one of the women while he and another man sexually assaulted her. The women were crying, trying to cover themselves as some men led them into the fields, dragging sticks.
Lian Mung, an activist who has assisted the victims, said they had left to the violent mob. “Our team met them in May,” Mung said in a phone interview from Manipur. “They told us, ‘We have to go naked and march or they’ll kill us.’”
The pleas for help from the police went unanswered, one of the victims told local media.
The perpetrator then gang-raped one of the women and killed her brother as he tried to protect her, according to allegations in the police complaint, a copy of which was seen by The New York Times.
According to the complaint, the crowd included hundreds of Meitei, who make up a narrow majority in Manipur. The victims came from a community of hill tribes known as the Kukis.
Tensions between the two groups boiled over in early May, when a student-led group, mainly Kukis, marched to protest against a court ruling in favor of Meiteis, who had won a special status that would allow them to buy hill land and secure government job allocation. Armed clashes ensued, and police arsenals were raided. Within two days, more than 50 people had died.
The current state of 3.7 million people is basically divided into ethnic areas. Kukis asked the state premier to resign so that peace talks could proceed. Premier N. Biren Singh, a leader of Metei, is a member of Mr. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.
Some in the international community have voiced concern about the violence in Manipur.
Shortly after Mr. Modi left for an official visit to France this month, the European Parliament passed a powerful statement. Resolution called the violence the result of “divisive policies promoting Hindu majorityism.” Modi’s government call declared it unacceptable interference in the internal affairs of India.
